Introduction

We, the Liz Mohn Foundation, as the operator of the online service, are responsible for processing the personal data of users of the online service. Our contact details can be found in the legal notice. The contact persons for questions regarding the processing of personal data are named directly in this privacy policy.

We take protection of your privacy and your private data very seriously. We collect, store, and use your personal data only in accordance with the content of this privacy policy and the applicable data protection regulations, in particular the European General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and national data protection regulations.

With this privacy policy, we would like to inform you about the extent and purpose of the processing of personal data in connection with the use of our online services.

Personal data

Personal data is information about an identified or identifiable natural person. This includes all information about your identity, such as your name, email address, or postal address. Information that cannot be linked to your identity (such as statistical data, e.g., on the number of users of the online offering) is not considered personal information.

You can generally use our online services without disclosing your identity and without providing personal data. In this case, we will only collect general information about your visit to our online services. However, for some of the services offered, we will collect personal data from you. We will only process this data for the purposes of using these online services, in particular to provide the requested information. When collecting personal data, only the data that is absolutely necessary must be provided. Additional information may also be provided, but this is voluntary. We indicate whether fields are mandatory or voluntary. We provide specific details in the relevant section of this privacy policy.

No automated decision-making based on your personal data takes place in connection with the use of our online offering.

Processing of personal information

Your data is stored by us on specially protected servers within the European Union. These are protected by technical and organizational measures against loss, destruction, access, modification, or distribution of your data by unauthorized persons. Only a few authorized people have access to your data. These people are responsible for the technical, commercial, or editorial support of the servers. Despite regular checks, however, complete protection against all risks is not possible.

Your personal data is transmitted in encrypted form via the Internet. We use SSL (Secure Socket Layer) encryption for data transmission.

Disclosure of personal data to third parties

We only use your personal information to provide the services you have requested. If we use external service providers to provide these services, they will only access your data for the purpose of providing these services. We use technical and organizational measures to ensure compliance with data protection regulations and also require our external service providers to do the same.

Furthermore, we do not disclose your data to third parties without your express consent, especially not for advertising purposes. Your personal data will only be passed on if you have consented to the transfer of data yourself or if we are entitled or obliged to do so based on legal provisions and/or official or court orders. This may include the provision of information for the purposes of criminal prosecution, averting danger, or enforcing intellectual property rights.

Legal bases for data processing

Insofar as we obtain your consent for the processing of your personal data, Art. 6 (1) (a) GDPR serves as the legal basis for data processing.

If we process your personal data because this is necessary for the performance of a contract or in the context of a quasi-contractual relationship with you, Art. 6 (1) (b) GDPR serves as the legal basis for data processing.

If we process your personal data to fulfill a legal obligation, Art. 6 (1) (c) GDPR serves as the legal basis for data processing.

Art. 6 (1) (f) GDPR also serves as the legal basis for data processing if the processing of your personal data is necessary to safeguard a legitimate interest of our foundation or a third party and your interests, fundamental rights, and freedoms do not require the protection of personal data.

Within the scope of this privacy policy, we always point out the legal basis on which we base the processing of your personal data.

Data deletion and storage period

We always delete or block your personal data when the purpose for storing it no longer applies. However, storage may continue if this is required by legal provisions to which we are subject, for example with regard to statutory retention and documentation obligations. In such a case, we will delete or block your personal data after the end of the corresponding requirements.

Use of our online offering

Use of cookies

Like many websites, our online offering uses cookies. Cookies are small text files that are stored on your computer and save certain settings and data for exchange with our online offering via your browser. A cookie usually contains the name of the domain from which the cookie file was sent, information about the age of the cookie, and an alphanumeric identifier.

Cookies enable us to recognize your computer and make any presettings immediately available. Cookies help us to improve our online offering and to offer you a better and more personalized service. This also reflects our legitimate interest in data processing in accordance with Art. 6 (1) (f) GDPR.

The cookies we use are so-called session cookies, which are automatically deleted at the end of the browser session. In some cases, cookies with a longer storage period may also be used so that your presettings and preferences can still be taken into account the next time you visit our online offering.

Most browsers are set to accept cookies automatically. However, you can deactivate the storage of cookies or set your browser to notify you as soon as cookies are sent. It is also possible to manually delete cookies that have already been stored via your browser settings. Please note that you may only be able to use our online services to a limited extent or not at all if you refuse to accept cookies or delete necessary cookies.

Communicating with us

You can contact us in various ways, including via the contact form on our website. We are also happy to keep you informed on a regular basis with our newsletters on various topics via email.

Contact form

If you wish to use the contact form on our website, we will collect the personal data you provide in the contact form, in particular your name and email address. We also store the date and time of your inquiry. We process the data transmitted via the contact form exclusively for the purpose of responding to your inquiry or request.

You can decide for yourself what information you want to send us via the contact form. The legal basis for the processing of your data is your consent in accordance with Art. 6 (1) (a) GDPR.

After we have processed the matter, the data will initially be stored in case of any queries. You can request the deletion of the data at any time, otherwise it will be deleted after the matter has been completely resolved; statutory retention obligations remain unaffected in each case.

Use of YouTube

Our online offering includes YouTube videos, which we play using a plugin from the Google-operated service YouTube (hereinafter: “YouTube”). The service is operated by Google Ireland Limited, Gordon House, 4 Barrow St, Dublin, D04 E5W5, Ireland (“Google”).

We use the YouTube service in extended data protection mode in order to protect your privacy as much as possible. When you visit a page on our website that contains a YouTube video, Google initially only receives the information necessary for embedding the video, and no cookies for usage analysis are set. Only when you play the embedded video does Google receive further information; Google may also set cookies to analyze your user behavior. This data processing by Google is technically necessary for playing YouTube videos and is specified by YouTube. We have no influence on this data processing and recommend that you take this into account when playing a YouTube video on our website. When you play the video, Google’s YouTube servers are informed, for example, which page of our online offering you are playing the video on.

If you are logged into your Google account, you enable Google or YouTube to assign your surfing behavior directly to your personal Google profile. We therefore recommend that you only play embedded YouTube videos if you agree to the associated data processing by Google. You can prevent data being assigned to your Google profile by logging out of your YouTube account. Further information on the handling of user data can be found in Google’s privacy policy at https://www.google.de/intl/de/policies/privacy/, which also applies to YouTube.

We use YouTube to show you videos and provide you with more information about us and our services. The legal basis for embedding the videos is our legitimate interest within the meaning of Art. 6 (1) lit. f) GDPR.

Your rights and contact details

We attach great importance to explaining the processing of your personal data as transparently as possible and also informing you about your rights. If you would like more information or wish to exercise your rights, you can contact us at any time so that we can address your concerns.

Rights of data subjects

You have extensive rights regarding the processing of your personal data. First, you have a comprehensive right to information and, if necessary, you can request the correction and/or deletion or blocking of your personal data. You can also request a restriction of processing and have a right to object. With regard to the personal data you have provided to us, you also have a right to data portability.

If you wish to exercise any of your rights and/or receive more detailed information about them, please contact our staff using the contact form. Alternatively, you can also contact our data protection officer.

Revocation of consent and objection

Once you have given your consent, you can revoke it at any time with effect for the future. Revoking your consent does not affect the legality of the processing carried out on the basis of your consent until revocation. The contact persons for this are also our employees via the contact form and our data protection officer.

If the processing of your personal data is not based on consent but on another legal basis, you can object to this data processing. Your objection will lead to a review and, if necessary, termination of the data processing. You will be informed of the result of the review and, if the data processing is to continue, you will receive further information from us as to why the data processing is permissible.

Data protection officer and contact details

We have appointed an external data protection officer who supports us in data protection matters and whom you can also contact directly. If you have any questions regarding our handling of personal data or would like further information on data protection issues, please do not hesitate to contact our data protection officer and his team:

RA Dr. Sebastian Meyer, LL.M.
c/o BRANDI Rechtsanwälte

Adenauerplatz 1
33602 Bielefeld

Phone: 0521 / 96535-812
E-Mail: sebastian.meyer(at)brandi.net

If you would like to contact our data protection officer personally by email, you can also reach him at sebastian.meyer@brandi.net

Complaints

If you believe that our processing of your personal data is not in accordance with this privacy policy or applicable data protection regulations, you can lodge a complaint with our data protection officer. The data protection officer will then investigate the matter and inform you of the outcome of the investigation. You also have the right to lodge a complaint with a supervisory authority.

Further information and changes

Links to other websites

Our online offering may contain links to other websites. These links are usually marked as such. We have no influence on the extent to which the applicable data protection regulations are complied with on the linked websites. We therefore recommend that you also inform yourself about the respective privacy policies of other websites.

Changes to this privacy policy

The status of this privacy policy is indicated by the date (below). We reserve the right to change this privacy policy at any time with future effect. Changes will be made in particular in the event of technical adjustments to the online offering or changes to data protection regulations. The current version of the privacy policy is always available directly via the online offering. We recommend that you regularly check for changes to this privacy policy. 

Status of this privacy policy: February 2024